This silk escape and evasion map was printed with waterproof dyes just in case the map ever got wet.

Published: February 26, 2011 -- 00:00 GMT (16:00 PST)

Caption by: Charles Cooper

(Credit: CIA)

Allied photo interpreters used this stereoscope during World War II to view filmed images of enemy territory in 3D.

Published: February 26, 2011 -- 00:00 GMT (16:00 PST)

Caption by: Charles Cooper

(Credit: CIA)

This intrusion detector — powered by tiny power cells and featuring a built-in antenna — could detect movement of people, animals or objects up to 300m away.

Published: February 26, 2011 -- 00:00 GMT (16:00 PST)

Caption by: Charles Cooper

(Credit: CIA)

Ever wonder where your tax dollars go? This image shows some of the handicraft of the CIA's Office of Advanced Technologies and Programs — in this case an "Unmanned Underwater Vehicle" fish built to study aquatic robot technology.

Why it would want to do that is anybody's guess, but the CIA did come up with a nifty implementation of different technologies, including a communications system in the body and a propulsion system in the fish's tail. (An operator on land controlled it by a wireless line-of-sight radio handset.)

Published: February 26, 2011 -- 00:00 GMT (16:00 PST)

Caption by: Charles Cooper

(Credit: CIA)

This Dragonfly "insectothopter", invented by the CIA's Office of Research and Development in the 1970s, essentially served as a very tiny Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. One of the first-ever UAVs — long before the acronym entered the popular lexicon — this project pressed forward to test the feasibility of gathering intelligence collection by miniaturised platforms.

Published: February 26, 2011 -- 00:00 GMT (16:00 PST)

Caption by: Charles Cooper

(Credit: CIA)

During the World War II, devices like this one helped agents remove letters from their envelopes without opening the seals. After inserting the device into the unsealed gap at the top of an envelope flap, an agent could wind the letter around the pincers and remove it from the envelope without leaving a tear in the paper.

Published: February 26, 2011 -- 00:00 GMT (16:00 PST)

Caption by: Charles Cooper

(Credit: CIA)

The "Belly Buster" hand-crank audio drill was used in the 1950s and 1960s to put holes in masonry so CIA agents could implant audio devices.

Published: February 26, 2011 -- 00:00 GMT (16:00 PST)

Caption by: Charles Cooper

(Credit: CIA)

The pneumatic tube system in the CIA's first headquarters building featured more than 48km of 10.2cm steel tubing. The system, which had about 150 receiving and dispatching stations throughout the building, operated between 1962 and 1989.

Published: February 26, 2011 -- 00:00 GMT (16:00 PST)

Caption by: Charles Cooper

(Credit: CIA)

America's first successful photographic reconnaissance satellite, Corona, came into widespread use at the CIA in the 1960s.

Published: February 26, 2011 -- 00:00 GMT (16:00 PST)

Caption by: Charles Cooper

(Credit: CIA)

The world's most widely used spycam, the portable Minox camera, fit into the palm of the hand and could take high quality pictures.

Published: February 26, 2011 -- 00:00 GMT (16:00 PST)

Caption by: Charles Cooper

(Credit: CIA)

You've heard of pigeons carrying messages. How about pigeons taking pictures? The CIA invented a small camera that was light enough to attach to pigeons. As the birds flew over a target, the camera would take detailed images of a target area.

Published: February 26, 2011 -- 00:00 GMT (16:00 PST)

Caption by: Charles Cooper

(Credit: CIA)

A miniature 35mm film camera concealed in a tobacco pouch.

Published: February 26, 2011 -- 00:00 GMT (16:00 PST)

Caption by: Charles Cooper

(Credit: CIA)

In the 1950s, the CIA had its own semi-submersible. It couldn't travel very far and needed to be hauled around by a larger mother vessel, but its relatively small size allowed the spy sub to operate undetected in areas that would have proved impossible for larger ships.

Published: February 26, 2011 -- 00:00 GMT (16:00 PST)

Caption by: Charles Cooper

(Credit: CIA)

Another view of the semi-submersible.

Published: February 26, 2011 -- 00:00 GMT (16:00 PST)

Caption by: Charles Cooper

(Credit: CIA)

A lithium iodine battery. It's still unclear what use it saw in action, but the CIA says it shared its research into these types of batteries with the medical community in the 1970s.

Published: February 26, 2011 -- 00:00 GMT (16:00 PST)

Caption by: Charles Cooper

(Credit: CIA)

Allen W. Dulles was the longest serving director in CIA's history. This was his identification card.

Secret CIA spy gadgets go public: photos

When you think CIA, the last word likely to come to mind is "open". And yet the US spy organisation has begun to lift the lid — albeit ever so slightly — in a bid to cultivate public support. In fact, the agency recently launched a retooled website, complete with YouTube and Flickr channels.